Will Smith Sued Over Shocking 'Grooming' Allegations
Actor and musician Will Smith is facing a new legal challenge after a lawsuit was filed alleging misconduct described by the plaintiff as “grooming,” claims that have quickly drawn public attention due to their severity.
The suit was filed before the new year in Los Angeles, according to Fox News.
Brian King Joseph, a professional violinist who first worked with Smith in December 2024, levied some shocking allegations against the Oscar winner.
After that initial 2024 partnership, Smith allegedly invited Joseph to work with him on his “Based on a True Story: 2025 Tour.”
The “relationship grew even closer,” Joseph alleged, after Smith offered to further collaborate on an upcoming music album.
Will Smith sued for sexual harassment, accused of ‘deliberately grooming’ tour violinist https://t.co/Qc8Le1NuZY pic.twitter.com/99iRHbFSoa
— New York Post (@nypost) January 2, 2026
While Smith has not been found liable for any wrongdoing, Joseph’s sexual harassment lawsuit directly accused the world-renowned actor of “deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation.”
The entire saga allegedly left Joseph with “severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages.”
“Smith and Plaintiff began spending additional time alone, with Smith even telling Plaintiff that ‘You and I have such a special connection, that I don’t have with anyone else,’ and other similar expressions indicating his closeness to Plaintiff,” an excerpt from the lawsuit documents obtained by Fox News read.
According to the lawsuit, Joseph said he became part of the tour during its initial stop in Las Vegas in March 2025. He alleged that accommodations were arranged by Smith and members of the actor’s team, including a hotel room assigned specifically to him.
In the filing, Joseph contended that access to the room was tightly controlled, asserting that no one other than the touring crew and hotel personnel would have been able to enter.
Despite that sort of security, Joseph claimed that when he eventually returned to his room after a rehearsal, he “discovered evidence suggesting that an unknown person had unlawfully entered the room.”
“The evidence included a handwritten note addressed to Plaintiff by name, which read ‘Brian, I’ll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us (drawn heart), Stone F,’” the lawsuit stated.
The complaint added, “Among the remaining belongings were wipes, a beer bottle, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication with another individual’s name, an earring, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to a person unbeknownst to Plaintiff.”
Joseph, fearing that an unknown individual would be showing up at his hotel room to engage in sexual acts, immediately told hotel security.
Joseph said that Smith’s team blamed him for the ordeal.
The lawsuit said that Joseph was “shamed” for this incident, and was notified that he was going to be fired.
When Joseph sought further clarification on the termination notice, he claimed that a Smith representative effectively told him that “nothing happened, and you made the whole thing up.”
“So, tell me, why did you lie and make this up?” Joseph was purportedly asked.
The lawsuit alleged, “The facts strongly suggest that Defendant Willard Carroll Smith II was deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation. The sequence of events, Smith’s prior statements to Plaintiff, and the circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident.”
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